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We'll update this story throughout the day with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Florida.

Florida hit another unwelcome milestone Wednesday night, with the state reporting more than 100 fatalities linked to the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Sitting at just under 7,000 positive cases of COVID-19 early Wednesday morning, the statewide total of those who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus now nears 8,000.

Wednesday marked the second day in a row statewide case totals grew by more than 1,000. In total, 1,048 new cases were added to the state's database on Wednesday, bringing the overall total to 7,789, according to the latest advisory from the state Department of Health.

As the number of total cases grows, so too does the number of hospitalized patients, where there are 990 — up 100 hospitalized patients from the day's early report.

To provide our community with important public safety information, our newsroom is making stories related to the coronavirus free to read. To support important local journalism like this, please consider becoming a digital subscriber.

Miami-Dade County, who has long led the state in total number of cases, cracked 2,000 positive coronavirus cases, with 2,406 testing positive. In Broward County, 1,348 have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the use of FDA-approved tests with results in 45 minutes expected to be introduced to the hardest hit areas of the state — Miami-Dade and Broward counties — as soon as they're available.

Statewide, efforts are being launched to ramp up testing. Collectively, 68,336 have received testing for COVID-19. Among the results are 60,539 who have tested negative for coronavirus and 1,343 whose results are pending.

Florida making toilet paper 24/7; restocking wiped-out stores will take time

3:16 p.m. April 1

The 1,000 employees at the Georgia-Pacific facility in Palatka, one of the nation’s largest toilet paper suppliers, were making Angel Soft and Quilted Northern toilet paper 24-7 before the coronavirus pandemic. Last week they shipped out 120% of their normal capacity.

Meeting the increased demand is hard because most manufacturers, like Georgia-Pacific, were already producing at capacity.

With all that toilet paper being made, why isn't it filling the shelves at your local Publix or Winn-Dixie?

It's more a problem of getting it there than making it, GP Spokesman Mark Brown said.

DeSantis issues statewide safer-at-home order

1:20 p.m. April 1

Gov. Ron DeSantis will issue a safer-at-home order for the next 30 days.

DeSantis made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference in Tallahassee.

The order will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Under the order, people will be allowed to engage in 'essential activities." Details on what constitutes an activity as essential are said to be released later Wednesday.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced Wednesday morning that he is issuing a Safer At Home Executive Order mandating that the city’s residents remain at home except for critical and essential needs.

The order will take effect Friday, April 3, at 12:01 a.m.

“While we are confident that citizens will be much safer at home in the coming weeks, I want to make it clear that this executive order does not restrict people’s ability to go outside to take a walk or ride a bike,” Mayor Curry said in a news release from the city. “This only prevents residents from traveling to businesses deemed nonessential.”

Additionally, starting Friday at 12:01 a.m., only essential businesses will be permitted to operate.

Why hasn't Florida issued a statewide COVID-19 stay-at-home order?

Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus because the disease has not hit many areas of the state, he said.

At least 30 states have issued statewide stay-at-home orders so far. Florida, among eight states with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, is the only one without such an order.

DeSantis’ approach in trying to manage the disease without doing undue harm to the economy mirrors comments from President Donald Trump who, on Monday reiterated his belief that a nationwide stay-at-home order is not needed.

But as the outbreak marches across the country, public health officials stress that the lack of testing is masking the true picture of the epidemic, a situation that they argue is playing out in Florida.

As of Tuesday night, 29 of Florida’s 67 counties had 10 or fewer cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. In 13 largely rural and poor counties — mostly in the northern part of the state between Gainesville and Tallahassee — no cases had been reported to the state health department.

Public health expert calls for statewide lockdown

5:01 p.m. March 31

After publishing an analysis that predicts Florida could see thousands of COVID-19 deaths and a shortage of hospital intensive care unit beds, a public health expert with the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to issue a statewide lockdown.

Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metric sciences, told the Miami Herald that he advised Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees to implement a lockdown. DeSantis has resisted such a move.

Mokdad was part of a team that developed a model forecasting COVID-19 deaths nationwide, and in each state. The model also looks at the potential strain on the health care system.

Ocala couple aboard cruise ship stuck at sea

4:04 p.m. March 31

Three weeks ago, Roy and Diane Smith embarked on a planned month-long cruise set to round Cape Horn, glide up the west coast of South America and cross the Panama Canal.

But the Ocala couple’s dream excursion quickly turned into a waking nightmare, as they found themselves stranded aboard Holland America Line’s Zaandam, trapped with at least eight COVID-19-infected passengers and turned away at ports throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The ship is sailing toward its home port in Fort Lauderdale, but as of Tuesday, local officials and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were not prepared to give it berth.

Filings for unemployment benefits hit a record 3.3 million last week, the Labor Department said showing the coronavirus’s damage to the economy.
USA TODAY

Unprecedented unemployment inundates CONNECT claims system

11:02 a.m.

In early March, Jim Moore's phone was blowing up with restaurants wanting him to find experienced cooks and servers for them. That ended abruptly two weeks ago, said Moore, owner of Moore Hospitality Search in Jensen Beach.

"I had five interviews set up for last Tuesday, and all but one of them canceled. Now I'm getting lots of good, quality applicants, but nowhere for them to go," he said.

The coronavirus prompted the governor to close all restaurant dining rooms in Florida March 20, after initially trying to limit crowd sizes to enforce "social distancing."

"How bad the virus affected a restaurant depended on your business model," Moore said. "Full-service restaurants are either closed, unless they have established curbside or delivery business. Fast food restaurants haven't been as affected."

DeSantis urged to enact statewide evictions ban

1:36 p.m. March 31

Gov. Ron DeSantis should impose a statewide moratorium on evictions to avoid the ouster of thousands of tenants who have lost jobs because of the coronavirus shutdowns, Democratic lawmakers and local officials said Tuesday.

With first-of-the-month payments putting added pressure on financially strapped Floridians, those urging action said worries about being evicted is a burden state government could ease.

DeSantis has said little about pocketbook concerns for Floridians, instead focusing on the state’s need for stepping up testing, and self-isolation. He has refused calls for statewide shelter-in-place directives, although he issued such an order Monday for four South Florida counties through mid-April.

Gov. DeSantis orders 'safer at home' rule for all of South Florida

March 30

The morning after President Trump issued a 30-day extension of a federal voluntary shutdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday announced a four-county "safer at home" executive order for all of southeast Florida.

"With this order we are going guns blazing to do all we can to slow the spread of COVID-19," Desantis said at a news conference in the parking lot of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

Meanwhile, he continued to defend his decision to not order a blanket statewide shutdown and allow local governments to make their own decisions about closing beaches and nonessential businesses and requesting people to stay home as much as possible.

Coronavirus Florida: Deaths projected to hit 6,766 by August

March 30

A disturbing new analysis predicts the death toll in Florida from the coronavirus will rise to 6,766 by Aug. 4.

The analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington under the direction of professor Chris Murray also predicts that Florida will face a peak shortage of 843 intensive care unit hospital beds.

The need for ICU beds will peak on May 3 in Florida, according to the report. The state will need 2,538 beds on that day, but only 1,695 will be available.

The number of COVID-19 deaths per day in Florida is projected to peak on May 3 at 174, and then taper off. The ICU bed shortage is projected to begin on April 16 — just 17 days from now — and last until May 16.

Checkpoints set up for motorists entering Florida

March 30

Effective immediately, motorists who are traveling from areas with substantial community spread including Louisiana, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, will be required to isolate for a period of 14 days upon entry to Florida or for the duration of their visit, whichever is shorter, and should be prepared for additional monitoring by DOH to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

No checkpoints within the state impede commerce or the timely delivery of products across Florida.

To assist with the implementation and enforcement of the Executive Order, FHP will staff the checkpoint at I-95 at the Georgia/Florida line 24 hours a day with more than a dozen troopers in 12-hour shifts.

Are grocery stores and pharmacies vectors for the coronavirus?

March 29

There's so much to touch and grab at the grocery store — shopping carts, freezer door handles, cardboard boxes and plastic packaging.

Such surfaces are almost unavoidable for shoppers. But they also carry a certain amount of risk in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding urgency to a troubling question: Have pharmacies and supermarkets become super-spreading virus vectors?

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

Symptoms can range from mild to severe, and some people don't have any symptoms at all. The most common symptoms resemble the flu and include fever, tiredness and dry cough. Some people also develop aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea.

Patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath, the Centers for Disease Control said.

About 1 in 6 people becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing, according to the World Health Organization. If you experience fever, cough and shortness of breath, call your doctor.

Symptoms may appear anywhere between two to 14 days after exposure, with the average patient seeing onset at around five days, according to the CDC.